Pain and Ignorance
by Princess Ona
Summary: This is an officially wierd Faye X Spike thingy.
1. The Aftermath

Hiya, this is a Cowboy Bebop fic. It's a romance(eventually) between Faye and Spike. Nuff said.   
  
Pain and Ignorance   
Chapter I  
  
Faye retched for the last time over the toilet of the Bebop. Then, feeling like shit, she pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. She took to crying again. In the two months that Spike had been gone Faye had cried a lot. She had also been throwing up a lot. Jet and Ed and even Ein were worried about her.   
Something wet nudged her leg and she lifted her bloodshot eyes to see the sad, sympathetic ones of the ugly corgi. He sat on his furry rump and whined at Faye. "Damn," she sniffed and wrapped her arms around Ein, crying into his neck. Then her stomach lurched and she dove at the toilet.  
Jet heard the mixed retching and sobs and swore long and loud. He looked at Ed, who was typing away at her laptop with fingers and toes, and declared, "That's it! We're stopping on Mars and going to a doctor. This has gone on long enough."  
Ed kept typing. Faye kept crying. Jet kept swearing.  
  
**************************  
  
Spike woke to a blinding light in his eyes. He couldn't move and had to open his eyes by degrees. He looked around as much as his limited field of vision would allow. As far as he could guess, he was in a hospital room. Great.  
Just then a plump brunette in a nurses uniform entered the room. She saw he was awake and smiled. "Well hello there!" she said in a cheery voice.   
Spike tried to talk but his throat was hoarse with dryness and disuse. "D'you want some ice chips?"  
He discovered he could nod and did so. She pressed a button on a remote control and the bed rose so he was in a sitting position. The nurse chatted as she worked. She was very chatty. "You were very lucky to survive that fire, sir. There were no others that made it. There was a blond woman, but she died soon after she was brought in..."  
Spike felt something constricting his lungs, then remembered to breathe. Julia was dead. No, he wouldn't dwell on it. He had faced his past and survived. It was time to let himself forget and move on. He looked up to see the nurse looking at him expectantly.   
He forced his weak vocal muscled to work, "What?"  
"What's your name?"  
He closed his eyes. "Spike. Spike Spiegle"  
"Well, Spike Spiegle, the doc'll be in shortly to discuss your injuries,"  
She started out "Wait!" Spike called. She turned. "What's your name?"   
She smiled. "Letty. Just call me Letty"  
"Okay... Letty" he said with his wry charming smile. Letty rolled her eyes.   
"Doncha try that poop on me. I'm too old"   
Spike burst out laughing. She sounded just like Jet.   
He sobered immediately. Did Jet and... Faye know he was alive? Probably not. He promised he would give them a phone call just as soon as he was in fighting shape again. "Hey Letty!"  
"Yes?"  
"How long was I out?"   
"Oh, two months I'd say"  
Spike whistled. Well that explained partway his inability to move. She left, and a few minutes later a tall balding man walked in. "Hello there. I just learned that your name is Spike. Well Spike, I suppose you want to know what's wrong with you, huh?"  
"Yes"  
"Okay. You were slashed across the stomach with a knife, it appears. Damn near spilled out your intestines, pardon my language,"  
"No problem"  
"And you had a few minor burns, but those are mostly healed-no disfigurement. You had a concussion, and that's about the extent of it"  
"Then why can't I move?"  
"Muscle disuse. You'll need physical therapy, which I see no reason that we can't start tomorrow. Unless you want the re-gen tank?"  
"Na. I'll take the traditional way"  
"Alrighty then. Letty'll getcha tomorrow morning"  
"Fine" Spike was getting tired, and when the doc left he dozed off with thoughts of three of the best friends he'd ever had plaguing him. He really had to call Faye, er, Jet.   
  
Love You Always,   
Princess Ona  



	2. Family Ties, and a Big Surprise!

8 months later.  
  
Spike grinned a bit when he saw the battered ship called Bebop ahead at the docking station. Who'd of thought it would land in his proverbial back yard? He had been out for his afternoon walk when the unmistakable shape of what he still considered his home had appeared. Letty was great for taking him in, but he could just barely tolerate her fussiness over him. She often jested that he was the little brother she never had. And he was treated like so.  
After a few dayes of physical therapy, Spike had opted for the regen tank after all. Physical therapy, he remarked, was much too slow. So now he was fully healed, healthy, and bored out of his mind. He missed his high action lifestyle.  
He also missed his "family" no matter how he tried to deny it. Rescources and assets were required to leave Mars, and Spike didn't have either. That was why he considered the Bebop's sudden appearance a gift from Divinity, whether that be a god or several gods.  
He was currently preoccupied with the question of how they would react to seeing him. No doubt they thought he was dead. What if the others had left, leaving just Jet? Once that would have suited him fine, now he loathed the thought.   
He was at the hatch of the Bebop now. His security code was still in the memory, so he had no trouble getting in. As he walked to the living quarters, he began to whistle. The urge was unexplainable. It had always been this way.  
He was home.  
He found the "living room" deserted. They or he must have gone out for supplies. Spike was disappointed. He had wanted to shock, er, surprise everyone.   
Suddenly there came the sound of wailing from the vicinity of his room. He frowned and followed the noise. It sounded like a baby, but that couldn't be, could it?   
Soon, he was standing in his old room, which seemed to have been transformed into a nursery of sorts. There was a bed, a rocker, an antique bassinet, and a small, frilly stroller.  
Faye was lying on the bed, asleep. Spike realized he had never appreciated how beautiful she was. Her hair was the same, but her overall appearance had altered slightly. Her slim curves had rounded a bit, it seemed, and she had on a yellow jumper. He was confused at not seeing her in the yellow spandex, but even more confused at the possesiveness he felt. It was even greater than it had been for Julia.  
He turned his attention to the loud screams emitting from the bassinet. He walked over and peared inside. A scrunched up pink face, and tiny flailing fists was what he saw. Not knowing what else to do, he reached in and awkwardly pulled the baby out and cradled it against his chest. Holding the tiny bundle, he felt huge and clumsy.  
The cries immediately ceased, and the pink face relaxed. He surmised that the baby was probably Faye's, but whomelses he did not know. There had only been that one time, directly before he left...  
The eyes opened, and Spike gasped, because now he had no doubts. Though the baby had fine violet hair, and the shape of the face and features were hinting at taking after Faye, the shape and color of the eyes were a mirror image of his own. The real one that is.   
The eyes stared up at him curiously, and one tiny hand reached for his face. A soothing, pleasant smell surrounded him. He didn't recognize it now, but would soon come to know it as baby powder and formula. He didn't know what was happening, but the strange tugging below his breast bone gave him a choked feeling in his throat.   
He was bonding and he didn't even know it. All he could think about was that this tiny baby was his. A possesive feeling filled him again, identical to the one of a few minutes ago. He couldn't believe that something this small and delicate could even exist, let alone come from him.  
A sigh from behind him made Spike turn around. Faye's eyes opened, and she looked disoriented for a minute. Then she focused on him, and a choked cry escaped her lips. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp.  
Spike shook his head. Figured. "Just what I need, a fainted mother." The baby was still looking at him curiously. No doubt Faye would be hysterical when she... woke.  
Commotion in the living area caused Spike to investigate. He did not want to put the baby down, so he took it along. He decided to watch the happenings from the entrance doorway until he was noticed.  
Ein noticed him almost immediately, but just sat on his rear, staring. Ed bounced around the rooms babbling incoherently, like always, while Jet put away various foodstuffs.  
"Jet-person, Edward is going to see Polly-baby." she wheeled and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Spike.   
"Jet-person"  
"Fine, see if Faye's awake"  
"Jet-person"  
"I said fine"  
"JET-PERSON!"  
"What is it!?" he turned around and dropped a bag he was holding. It was comical, all four of them, still as stone. Jet was the first to speak.  
"I see you found our Polly. I suppose you know she's yours, huh?" Spike nodded briefly. "Well then" he turned and resumed his unloading. Ed and Ein continued goofing. Everything was back as it should be, no questions asked. Just like that.  
"JET!" a screech like a banshee cut through the air, and Jet sighed. "WHERE'S POLLY!"  
Faye rushed out and stopped short at seeing Spike. "Oh, God. Tell me I'm dreaming, no, tell me I'm not" she said, tears welling in her big green eyes.  
"You're not dreaming" Jet grumbled.  
Faye saw the baby. She met his eyes again. "That's Polly. My baby." she looked at him squarely, "Your baby."  
"I know" As quickly as that it was acknowledged. Everything that needed to be said was said in that brief conversation. Exept one thing: Faye Valentine was completely head over heels in love with Spike Spiegle.   
And Spike Spiegle was falling fast for Faye Valentine.  
  
Phew! That was my much awaited second chapter. Hope to get more reviews. 


	3. *explanations to lily*

Explanations=  
  
1. Some people think that I made the baby come prematurely, right? Wrong. If you go back and read over, you will find that it was approximately two months after Spike "died" when the story began, therefore the baby is a month old now (2+8=10=1 month old baby)  
  
2. Since I have never seen the series before it was featured on adult swim, I did not know what happened. I don't know if you know this, but there are very few sites on Cowboy Bebop and I could not find any clue on how Julia died, soooo, I made it up. Tada!  
  
3. Everywhere I look, his name is spelled "Spike Spiegle" so I kind of adopted that way of spelling. I'm not gonna change it, because it would be too difficult. 


	4. Sojourn-Preface

I told you guys, if you're confused tell me why! That's what reviews are for, duh!   
  
Sojourn- Preface  
  
"Polly?"  
Faye looked up at Spike questioningly.  
"How'd you come up with 'Polly' for a name?"  
"Actually, Ed thought of it. She said, and I quote 'Baby-person named Polly!' and it stuck. I like it"  
Spike raised an eyebrow and stared in that peculiar way of his. "What's up with the change in outfit?" he asked belatedly.  
"Stretch marks. You would not believe how big I got. I looked like a blimp! They're all over my stomach, so my old clothes are out for work purposes. Besides, it just doesn't feel right, with Polly and all."  
"I know. I wish I could have been here"   
"Me too. Hey, she's gonna get fussy here in a second. I'd better get her bottle" Faye gott up and left the sleeping baby with her father.   
As Spike looked down at the baby, he frowned in confusion. "How can you tell? She looks so peaceful"  
Faye flashed a smile over her shoulder. "Mother's intuition. You'd be amazed at what I've learned. Three..."  
Polly started to move restlessly. "Two...."  
A small cry issued from the tiny mouth. "One..."  
A blood curdling cry came from an awesome set of lungs. Spike cringed at the noise, but it ceased almost immediately when Faye put a bottle at the lips and Polly began to suck noisily. "Zero"  
Spike looked at her in wonder, then he glared. "I'm gonna learn how to do that" he handed Polly over.  
"Sure you are" she agreed.  
"I am"  
"I know"  
"Hey, are you guys done getting reaquainted? 'Cuz we gotta get moving. Ed can only kick my ass in chess so many times before I get annoyed, y' know" Jet called from somewhere.  
"Sure, come out. I just gotta go get Letty, and we'll be off"  
"Letty?" Faye asked casually, with a slight edge in her voice.  
"Yeah. She was my nurse after the incident. She took me in when my treatment was done. She's kind of like a mother hen. I promised to take her with me if I ever left Mars. There's room, isn't there Jet?"  
"Shit. I got four strays already, what's another? I suppose" Jet said defeatedly.  
Spike looked at Faye, and saw the doubt in her eyes. "I told you, she's just a friend, a big sister really. You have nothing to be jealous of"  
"Me, jealous? Ha!" Faye said heartily. "And to prove it, I'll go with you to pick up Letty."  
Spike hid a grin. "Alright, let's go" he started out the door, whistling.   
"I- wait! What about Polly?"  
"Bring her with us" and Faye was so elated at the 'us' that she immediately followed him.   
************  
It was a warm day out and Faye and Spike walked liesurely to the dilapitated building he had been residing in. Faye clasped her arms around her baby in nervousness.  
"Hey, it's okay. The people around here are decent, even if they aren't rich."  
"If you say so"  
On the second floor, Spike opened a door and strode in. "Letty, you home?" he called.   
"Spike, I was so worried about you. Who's this?" Faye was startled by the buxom blonde woman's lack of surprise and her frankness.   
"This is Faye Valentine. Faye, Leticia Cronwell-Letty."  
"Goodness, Spike, she's not another stray is she. I can only feed and clothe so many-" she stopped at Faye's short bark of laughter.  
"Jesus, you and Jet will get along great." She said with great amusement.  
"Y'know, Faye, I thought the same thing when I met her" Spike intoned dryly. He was poking around the living room.  
"Who? Who's Jet?" Letty was becoming frustrated.   
"Remember how you alway's say that you want to get off of Mars and see the universe? Well Faye is one of my shipmates from a long time ago."  
"Not that long"  
"And I talked them into letting you come with us. We're bounty hunters, so we get around pretty good."  
"Oh, oh dear" Letty plopped onto a couch. "Spike..." she looked up and smiled regretfully. "I was just dreaming idly. I could never leave this place. It's my home." she got up and kissed his cheek. "You go. I'll miss you, but drop me a line someday. Maybe even visit me"  
"You're sure? You don't want to come?"  
"Nope. I have a job, and a cause. I'll be fine"   
They stayed for a while, and Faye got to know the person that had been taking care of the person she loved. But the time came when they had to leave.  
Back on the Bebop, they blasted off. It was the beginning of a brand new adventure. Spike or Faye's past were no longer in question.  
Or were they?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sorry I haven't updated. I have been working on my information/analysis website for DBZ characters. This id the last chapter of THIS series. Expect a sequel in the near to medium distant future. It will be called "Sojourn" Look for it 


End file.
